Losing the Black Name
by Splash123
Summary: The story of what happened the night Andromeda lost the Black family name. Rating for very minor swear words. Andromeda/Ted. Oneshot.


**A/N: I don't own the Harry Potter franchise.**

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**Losing the Black Name**

Andromeda dashed into her room and slammed the door, hot tears sliding down her cheeks. But she did not let herself make a sound or break down.

Because if she did, she wouldn't be able to stop. And she needed to keep a clear head, if she wanted to do what she needed to do.

Oh God, she hoped Ted would be there for her. He had promised, but her parents had promised to love her forever, hadn't they? Promises mean nothing.

"Andromeda? ANDROMEDA URSULA BLACK, OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!" Her parents. Old Mum and Dad, wanting to have a friendly talk with their beloved daughter.

_Ha._ Even before she'd become the biggest traitor the Black family had ever known, she'd never called them Mum and Dad. Mother and Father, that's who they were. Life in the Black family was all about formalities. No warmth, no comfort.

Andromeda wiped her eyes and thanked God she'd long since learned the spell to lock the doors so even Alohomora couldn't break through.

"Open the door, traitor." Bella's voice. Cold. Venomous. Like a snake.

_You're the traitor,_ Andromeda thought. _You sold me out to Mother and Father._ Andromeda knew she was lucky Bella had not had her wand when she'd found out what was going on between her sister and Ted Tonks. She'd have been dead, literally dead. Bella was overflowing with blood loyalty, and significantly lacking in familial loyalty.

* * * * *

_Andromeda pulled her knees up to her chest, curling herself into a ball. If Mother ever saw this, she'd scream. It wasn't a ladylike pose._

"_Dromeda," Ted said. His voice made her name sound like a caress. She'd never liked her name before he had said it. He reached out and tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. "What are we going to do?"_

"_About…" she asked, stalling for time._

_Ted raised her eyebrows. He could always tell when she was trying to buy herself time to think. "About us," he said._

"_Oh," she squirmed. "Ted, you know we have to keep it a secret. Telling people wouldn't be smart. Cissy'll tell Bella, she tells Bella everything. Bella's kill us, literally. Murder us. _Avada Kedavra_. We're gone."_

_He was silent for a minute before he agreed. "Okay, Dromeda. We'll keep us a secret." And he leaned in to kiss her._

_And so they had. Andromeda and Ted snuck secret, golden moments away from the world together. No one had a clue that the Black girl, the one who never did anything but read and do homework in the library, and the cheerful Hufflepuff Muggleborn were constantly meeting in empty classrooms, closets, anywhere where they could talk, kiss, be together._

_The very best memory Andromeda had of these meetings was one day about a month ago. Ted had looked straight into her eyes and said, "I promise to love you forever. I'll do anything for you, I swear." And then he had gooten down on one knee and proposed. Andromeda had said yes ecstatically. The ring was nowhere near as expensive as her mother's, but far more beautiful. She had hung it on a long chain that she wore around her neck, so no one could see._

_Things had gone smoothly until the night before they were going to leave Hogwarts for the last time. The two were in an empty classroom, talking._

"_I'll move out, right away," she said. "We can go somewhere. Hogsmeade. London. I don't care. We'll elope. Do something."_

"_We won't have much money," Ted said, obviously trying to think of the practical side of things. But his eyes were shining, excited at thought of getting married._

"_It doesn't matter. You've got the cottage your grandfather left you, right?" He nodded. "We'll live there. We won't be rich, but we'll be together."_

_It was then that they'd heard the gasp and seen the door cracked open. Narcissa, Andromeda's fourteen-year-old sister, stood with her mouth agape. _

"_Cissy!" Andromeda jumped up, but Narcissa'd taken off. _

_Andromeda finally caught up with her and convinced her not to say anything to Bellatrix, her idol. Bellatrix was one year older than Andromeda and would tell their parents quick if she knew Andromeda was plotting to run away for a "filthy Muggleborn."_

_But when the two younger Black sisters came home, Bella'd quickly figured out that they were hiding something. It hadn't taken much to convince Narcissa to spill the beans. And now, the entire Black family hated Andromeda._

_* * * * *_

Andromeda closed her eyes and breathed hard until her family had stopped banging on her door and everyone but her had gone to bed. Then she snatched her rucksack from under the bed and began to pack.

Robes, nightgowns. No schoolbooks, there was no use for them. But some of her favorite novels went in there. Ted had given her some Muggle ones, and she had to admit that many were better written than the Wizarding books. A three-year-old photograph of her and Sirius, hugging. Sirius was eight in the picture, and not fond of hugging. He was squirming to get away. Andromeda sighed. She hoped Sirius didn't turn out like Bella. He was so innocent, so free to choose his own path. He shouldn't waste it.

She swung the rucksack over her shoulders and looked around the room. It was nearly the same, but really it was so different. She pulled a scrap of parchment and a quill from her discarded schoolbooks and wrote a note.

_To the Black Family—  
__I'm sure that I'll be blasted off the family tree when you wake up. I'm sure I'm disowned. But you know what? __I haven't been cast out. I've left of my own volition. __I am going to be with my boyfriend. I love him dearly, and he loves me too, more than you ever did. I'm sure I will be happy. Not that it matters to you anyway. __Narcissa, should you every need a place to come, find me. I'll help you. But Bellatrix, Mother, Father—you can rot in hell.  
__Sincerely,  
__Andromeda_

She deposited the note on her bed, and with a sharp _crack,_ she Apparated to the yard near Ted's home.

* * * * *

"Andromeda?"

Ted rushed to the door and flung it open. At the sight of his face, Andromeda promptly burst into tears and wrapped her arms around him.

Ted looked startled for a minute, but then he pulled her in close. "Oh, Dromeda," he whispered. "What's wrong?"

Andromeda shook her head, unable to speak.

"Did you leave them?" he asked. Andromeda manage to nod.

"Oh, Dromeda." He hugged her tightly.

"Can we go, please?" she asked.

It took Ted a minute to realize what she meant. "You want to get married _now?"_

"You promised to love me forever. Make good on your promise," she pleaded. If his promise was broken as easily as her parent', she'd have nowhere to go.

Ted raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment. He just grabbed her hand and they Apparated to Hogsmeade.

And it was there, in a twenty-four-hour chapel in the seedy part of Hogsmeade, that Andromeda officially lost the Black name forever.

Andromeda Tonks had completely severed ties.

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**Like it? Hate it? Got some constructive criticism? Even a short "Good job" would make my day!**


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